The use of touch screens in electronic devices such as cellular phones, tablets, and other so-called smart devices has increased in recent years, especially for consumer electronics applications. Some touch screens operate by detecting small changes in local electronic properties, including capacitance or resistance. However, the fingers of a user can transfer moisture, dirt, dust, oils, or other substances to the surface of a touch screen during use, reducing or destroying the ability of the touch screen to accurately detect user inputs. To address this problem, many touch screens include protective coatings. Unfortunately, many protective coatings can themselves impede the use of the device and/or provide insufficient protection to the touch screen surface. In some cases, for example, a protective coating can be scratched, or be so thick that it is not sufficiently optically transparent, or can reduce the touch screen's sensitivity to changes in local electronic properties, thereby degrading device performance.
Therefore, there exists a need for touch screens and coatings for touch screens that exhibit mechanical toughness, sensitivity to local electronic properties, and optical transparency.